Frank Bruni has a powerful Opinion piece in the New York Times that chronicles the evolution of a college classmate from a devout Catholic to a progressive abortion doctor. Although the doctor is not named, I personally know many doctors who provide abortion services who would fit into this profile.
The very personal transformation bolsters the necessity of higher education, which allows a person to evolve from a narrow upbringing to see the world as it really is, not as some religious zealot imagines it to be.
The entire article needs to be read and reposted.
More below the evil orange Etch-A-Sketch lady part.
Apparently Frank's University of North Carolina classmate gave him the impression that he was a devout Catholic. They never became close, as Frank maintained his distance because he didn't want the hassles of being made to feel uncomfortable about his gay lifestyle. So, they lost touch until about 2 years ago when the classmate resurfaced.
"His life, he wanted me to know, had taken interesting turns. He’d gone into medicine, just as he’d always planned. He’d married and had kids. But he’d also strayed from his onetime script. As a doctor, he has spent a part of his time providing abortions."
I know many abortion providers that have had somewhat the same transformation. For instance, I was considered a conservative in college, so many people who knew me back then might be amazed at the evolution. Now, as an avowed liberal Democrat and abortion provider, the journey that got me to where I am today came about by actually experiencing the world apart from the insulated environment of my early home life.
Frank's early impression of his classmate was shaken when he learned that after college he had actually searched intellectually and reflected on the vagaries of the world. The classmate even apologized to Frank for giving him the impression that he was not open to intellectual discussions at all, or open to understanding the saneness of his homosexuality. He also read the Bible and books on church history, and as a result openly questioned the morality of the church.
"he said, 'was appalled at the behavior of the church while it presumed to teach all of us moral behavior.' How often had it pushed back at important science? Vilified important thinkers?"..."He has thought a lot about how customs, laws and religion do and don’t jibe with women’s actions and autonomy."
He ponders that abortion has been around for centuries and that women will go to great lengths to end an unwanted or ill timed pregnancy, including risking death. He further ranted against the onslaught of abortion restrictions.
“If doctors and nurses do not step up and provide these services or if so many obstacles and restrictions are put into place that women cannot access the services, then the stream of women seeking abortions tends to flow toward the illegal and dangerous methods,” he said.
So the classmate devoted some of his time to providing abortions, and was even a colleague of Dr. George Tiller who as assassinated in 2009 by anti-abortion lunatic Scott Roeder. He has since given up church because of its belief in the impossible while ignoring the realities of everyday life and death.
"He’s big on humility, asking, who are we to go to the barricades for human embryos and then treat animals and their habitats with such contempt? Or to make such unforgiving judgments about people who err, including women who get pregnant without meaning to, unequipped for the awesome responsibility of a child?"
As has happened to all of us in the abortion business, we've witnessed first hand the absolute hypocrisy of anti-abortion protesters who come into the clinic they protest for an abortion. The same happened to him. His protester was the loudest outside the clinic, and she even stood on a ladder so everyone could see her as she screamed at him and his patients.
"She needed an abortion and had come to him because, she explained, he was a familiar face. After the procedure, she assured him she wasn’t like all those other women: loose, unprincipled."
For, you see she couldn't afford a baby and the man wasn't involved. In her narrow mind, her story was different than all the other women getting abortions on a daily basis. Her reason was OK, but the rest of the women coming into the clinic were automatically sluts and whores getting an abortion for convenience. Then, surprisingly...
"A week later, she was back on her ladder."
"Back on her ladder", indeed.
As I said earlier, this happens all the time. And I guarantee you that many of these politicians and religious figures and media talking heads railing against abortion have been involved in getting an abortion either for themselves or their wives, girlfriends, daughters, mothers, or sisters.
You see, there are over 45 million women out there who have had abortions since legalization in 1973. That doesn't include the 45 million men who participated in the pregnancy and the families of those 45 million women who may or may not have been involved.
45 million women.
45 million men.
45 million family members.
The above seems to me to be a voting bloc that politicians wouldn't want to piss off. And I think it may be coming to a head, for the tide has turned somewhat in our favor as the collective mindset of Americans were irritated at the Komen fiasco, irritated at the Planned Parenthood defunding threats, irritated at the threats to birth control, and hopefully finally irritated at the all out assault on abortion rights.
That ladder is very precarious.
From MoveOn.org, one woman's level of irritation is very high.
Very precarious, indeed.